SAN LEANDRO — A challenger in the City Council election is alleging conflict of interest because of campaign donations to two incumbents from San Leandro police, who are in contract talks with the city.

The incumbents, Jim Prola and Ursula Reed, both disputed the notion that the donations would influence negotiations.

The latest campaign finance reports show that Prola and Reed each received $2,500 from the San Leandro Police Officers Association, as did candidate Benny Lee.

Hermy Almonte, who is challenging Prola in District 6, called on Prola and Reed to return the donations.

“The large donations were given for the obvious purpose of influencing the decision-making of council members Prola and Reed on contract negotiations,” Almonte said in a news release.

Prola countered that the $2,500 was a small portion of the almost $44,500 he has raised in the election.

“I think the police are supportive of me because I’ve always argued for crime-prevention officers and lobbied for a grant to bring in more officers,” he said. “I was the first one to ask for more police officers when I was first sworn in. I think that’s why officers support me; it has nothing to do with contract negotiations.”

Reed said this is the second election in which the police have supported her.

“I very much appreciate the police officers association donating to my campaign, as they also did in 2008,” she said.

“We negotiate almost annually with our unions now. We have hired negotiators that represent the best interests of the city and its employees,” she added. “All contracts are handled through bargaining and are not handled outside of the negotiation table.”

Almonte charged that the council voted in 2010 to ratify a contract with city employees requiring that the city pay 100 percent of employee pension expenses.

“Hermy has his facts wrong,” Prola said. “That was put in place by the City Council way before we were on there.” Under the agreement, ratified more than a decade ago, the city pays workers’ pension expenses in exchange for employees forgoing cost-of-living increases.

In the 2010 contract, “officers gave up some of their salary through furlough days. And they agreed to pay for one-half of their health care increases. That saved the city millions of dollars,” Prola said.

Though he was not at liberty to discuss details of the current labor negotiations, Prola said, “I fully expect we will have pension reform in this contract.”

Rebecca Parr is the city editor for the Oakland Tribune and Hayward Daily Review. She previously covered the Hayward area as a reporter. She has worked in many Bay Area newsrooms and does not miss the commute.

Otto Warmbier was arrested in January 2016 at the end of a brief tourist visit to North Korea. He had been medically evacuated and was being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center when he died at age 22.